Wal-Mart Waits as Billionaires Fight for Market: Corporate India

Last December, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledged to open India’s retail industry to foreign giants such Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Carrefour SA.

Seven months later, the foreigners are still waiting, stalled by populist politicians who say their arrival would threaten the survival of India’s legions of small shopowners. The delay has done little to change the perceived threat to mom and pop shops, though, as local conglomerates controlled by India’s richest families have been busy shoring up their position in retail.